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Tuesday, September 20, 2016

The Pray-ers / Book 1- Troubles {TOS Review}

God has recently been speaking to me about spiritual warfare. He has used several different people and resources to teach me how to combat the warfare that is constantly going on around us. One of the things He has brought into my life is this book - The Pray-ers / Book 1- Troubles by Mark S. Mirza.

The Pray-ers is a book that teaches the importance of prayer in everyday life. This book is told through the eyes of demons, angels, and humans. The story flip-flops between three time periods - 1st century, 18th century, and the current era, each with their own storyline.

The demons try to thwart the Christian's prayer life, casting doubt into their minds and hearts. The demons work through the lives of other people in the main character's lives, bringing trouble into their lives and trying to keep them from trusting in, and especially praying to, God. The angels are involved in the main character's lives, as well. They help protect, encourage, and try to stop the demon's attacks on the Christians.

What did this book teach me?

This book taught me the importance of prayer. Spiritual warfare is all around me, and prayer is the best way to fight against it. The Bible says to "Pray without ceasing", and this book showed me exactly what that means. Having a prayerful attitude about everything that happens in my life is important. I need to pray about everything - EVERYTHING! Prayer truly thwarts the devil's plans and schemes. This book really teaches you how to pray, especially how to pray scripture.

What was my favorite storyline in the book?
At first, I really enjoyed reading the current era's storyline, which was about a husband and wife. But the more I read through the book, I found the 18th century storyline to be my favorite part. It told the story of a man named Alexander Rich, a boyhood friend of Dwight L. Moody. He was a traveling preacher who had to deal with the effects of a rumor that got started about him and a young lady. He really used the power of prayer to get through this situation and his faith in God never wavered. It really inspired me and encouraged me.

Who should read this book?
This book would be a great book for any teen or adult to read. It teaches how to pray and shows you why you should pray. It helps you to see that prayer does work and is very effective. It does talk about demons and tells a storyline through them. They are presented in a very disgusting way and are not glamorized in the least. {Some books geared toward teens glamorize the occult - vampires, witches, and monsters. This book does just the opposite. The demons are in no way desirable or interesting.} I would not recommend this book to any pre-teen or teen that is sensitive to these topics.

Am I planning to let your kids read it?
I do plan to read through this book with my three older kids, as it is a longer book with some difficult content and themes. Mercie is 8, Eli is 11, and Mikaela is 13. I plan to read a few chapters a week, having my kids look up the scripture that is included in the footnotes {which is something I love!}. I really want my kids to learn how to pray effectively at a young age. I also want them to be aware of the spiritual warfare happening.

Is there anything I didn't like about it?

The book was a little hard to follow at first. I was a little confused for a while. It opens with the demons and their storyline, and I was a little skeptical. However, it quickly became an easy read and I couldn't put the book down. It truly blessed me and has given my prayer life the energy boost it needed.